So you’ve grabbed that big, bold
multi-piece skull
design from the
Rose & Bone
cutwork embroidery collection. Now you need to know
how to stitch that thing together for a dramatic
statement on clothes and more! The skull is pretty
forgiving about how it fits together, but we’ll show you
perfect placement techniques so you can be sure to get
it just the way you want it for your chic new fashion
statement. Plus, we’ll show you a few other stylish ways
to use the Rose & Bone designs for looks from casual to
fancy, on all kinds of
garments.

The supplies needed for this project are pretty much the
same as the previous cutwork tutorial...

A garment to add your design to. I picked a drape cardigan because it’s
super easy to hoop! Substantial yet drapey fabrics
will work best.

Your awesome
cutwork skull embroidery design. This is
available in sizes for
4"x4",
5"x7", and
6"x10" hoops, all of which stitch a
big, full-back skull. Read the product descriptions
for each version of the design to see the finished
skull sizes, ranging from 9.3" to 12.8" high.

No-show mesh cutaway stabilizer,
such as Floriani No Show Mesh or Sulky Soft 'n'
Sheer

Very sturdy water-soluble stabilizer (we
used Vilene; Sulky Ultra Solvy is another good
choice)

X-acto knife and scissors

Regular 40
wt. embroidery thread (we used rayon, but you might
also use polyester), and 30 to 50 wt. 100% cotton
thread (we used Madeira Cotona)

I’m going to be demonstrating the assembly and placement
of the
4"x4" version of the skull, because it’s the most
labor-intensive (with seven pieces to embroider), but I’ll give you tips for the larger
sizes too (those skulls are divident into three pieces
each).

OK, so these numbers aren't hard and fast rules --
you can kind of place these pieces in any fashion you
think looks like a good skull. But to get the spacing we
show you on the
product image, the final assembled size of the
4"x4"-hoop version of the skull
is about 11.2 inches tall.

We’ll use this measurement to guide our placement.

Mark the area of the skull onto whatever garment you’re putting
this on. It’s helpful to mark the completed size
early, so you don’t put your skull too low or high.

Once you’ve marked the area out, you’ll also want to
mark the center line down the middle. We’ll use this
line to measure where all our designs will move out
from.

OK! For your two top skull pieces, you'll want to put
the centers (the middle axis marked with
the red in this example) 1.9 inches from the top of your
square, and 1.9 inches away from your center line.

You’ll of course mirror this measurement for the other
piece. The two pieces should be just touching in the
middle, along the center line. Tape those templates in
place.

Next, your skull eyes...

Measure down 5.2 inches from the top for the center eye
axis, and 2.4 inches away from the center line, on
either side. Tape the two eye templates in place.

You’ll notice the little curls from the forehead pieces
are kind of “slotting” into the area between the eyes.
This is a good sign you’re lining things up correctly.

The center of the nose axis goes dead center on the
middle line, about 6.4 inches from the top.

It should be sitting nice and even between the eyes,
with just a little bit of space around it, as pictured.

Finally, your two mouth pieces. These, like the
forehead, should have their center axis 1.9 inches from
the bottom and 1.9 inches from the center line.

It’s especially important that these two templates just
barley touch in the middle, so you don’t get a
gap-toothed skeleton! Tape those in place once you get
them nice and snug next to each other.

Here are all my templates taped in place!

Once you have at least one piece of tape to hold each
piece down, place a cross of tape behind each template,
lining up with the axis lines of each piece. (Take a
peek four photos down to see the tape crosses alone.)

This
arrangement will let you draw a center dot and axis lines on
the tape later, and let you work and hoop with just
tape, instead of paper. Trust me, it’s much easier that
way!

This version is easier. The forehead comes as one piece, the
eyes and nose all as one piece, and the mouth as one big
smile. This one has just three pieces to line up!

This skull is about 9.28 inches tall assembled, so all
you need to do is place your eyes/nose center axis about
4.6 inches down, and then line the forehead up with the
top edge of your rectangle, and line up the mouth with the
bottom.

Pretty much the same. This version is also just three pieces
to line up, but your finished skull will be about 12.8
inches tall.

Place your eyes/nose center axis about 6.4 inches down,
and then line the forehead up with the top edge of your
rectangle, and line up the mouth with the bottom.

Got all your pieces taped in place? Good!

Place those tape X’s behind each template, and then mark
the axis and center point on each piece of tape. You can
punch right through the middle of your paper template to
get your center spot if you like. Just don’t punch
through your fabric!

With each template removed, complete the axis line on
each piece of tape. This will ensure you get perfectly
aligned, straight designs.

It also helps to mark which piece goes with which
file letter. You can see if you look really closely that
I labeled each template cross with a little A, B, etc.
This will help you keep track of which piece goes where.

Ready to get started? OK!

First you will just hoop up your FIRST design
with no-show mesh cutaway stabilizer. Spray the back of
your shirt and place the cutaway behind the area where the
first design will stitch.

Hoop it snugly all together.

Do NOT try to cover the whole back at once with the
cutaway. Your designs will come out much smoother and
less wrinkled if you stabilize separately for each
design, one at a
time.

Refer to the thread list for your design to see
which thread to use when.
These cutwork designs use a combination of regular rayon
(or polylester) embroidery thread, and cotton thread.

Wind a bobbin of your cotton thread -- you'll need this
to match your cotton top thread, for the lace part of
the designs.

Start embroidering the first design. The first thing
that stitches is a dieline that tells you where to cut
away the fabric.

A tip: Always aim your cutting direction in towards the
center of the design. That way if you cut too far, it
won’t matter. If you cut out towards the edges and slip,
you may cut outside the intended area and ruin your
fabric!

Once you’ve cut your fabric area out, tape a piece of
sturdy water-soluble stabilizer such as Vilene or Sulky
Ultra Solvy to the back (as shown in the
basic cutwork tutorial).

Place your hoop back onto your embroidery machine, and
start stitching! The next thing that stitches will be a
tackdown to hold that water-soluble stabilizer in place.
Switch to cotton thread (top and bobbin) and the lace
part will stitch. Then switch back to your regular
rayon/polyester thread to stitch the finishing details.

Once the design is done, un-hoop it, and cut away as
much of the excess water-soluble AND cutaway stabilizer
as you can. You want to remove it from the stitching
area of the next design.

Time to move to the next piece! Spray the back of the
fabric and smooth on another piece of cutaway
stabilizer, and move your hoop over to your next marked
spot.

This most likely will mean you’ll have to hoop over an area
you just embroidered. That’s OK, it can take it!

This is my next forehead piece, ready to have the fabric
trimmed. Just repeat the cutwork steps for each piece
you stitch.

Slowly the skull starts to appear. One piece at a time
lets you create a big cutwork masterpiece, using a small
hoop.

Take extra care lining up and hooping your mouth piece
so it’s right next to the first one that stitched. I
placed my template back on top just to check that those teeth
were touching. That way your skully will have a nice
continuous smile.

If you can’t get it perfect, don’t worry. If there’s a
bit of a gap, no one but you will ever notice it.

The finished skull!

After cutting away as much of the stabilizer from the
back as possible, leave your skully in water to soak
according to your water soluble stabilizer instructions.

Once all the stabilizer is dissolved, set it out to dry.

And you’re done!

From even the smallest hoops, a bold idea can make its
mark on any kind of project. I love the look of this big
glam skull on the back of a cardigan, letting a colored
or light shirt shine through underneath.

Want to go more subtly chic? Try a tone-on-tone version,
with the skull stitching in the same color as your
cardigan or sweater. Those skull features will
really pop, and the embroidery will shine in subtle
shifts of light.

That’s not all cutwork can do -- the other designs
from the
Rose & Bone set are perfect for dressing up
casual wear of any type. Add
corner pieces to the front
of cardigans for a chic accent. Open up a
sleeve (using
this tutorial
as a guide) and let
long designs shimmer down sleeves,
or use a
border piece to add a thinner, elegant touch
wrapped around. You can even stitch them as elegant
swooped designs down
necklines. These designs are
perfect for adding just a bit of romance to everyday
wear.

Maybe you want to go dressy! These designs can go
all the way. Stitch some dramatic windows in a bolero
for a dress, and let a little skin shine through for a
classy touch. Stitch it on blazers and jackets to add a
bit of high fashion and personality to business wear. Or
go daring and bold by placing your cutwork
to show off a flash of skin. Whatever you add these
Rose & Bone designs to, you’re sure to get noticed!